Italy's premier resigns after sacking by own party

ROME – Italy's president has accepted the resignation of Premier Enrico Letta after he was sacked by his own party in a back-room mutiny.

President Giorgio Napolitano said he would start consulting political leaders later Friday with an aim of finding a new government that can win parliamentary approval and enact necessary economic and political reforms.

The consultations are expected to last through Saturday. At their conclusion, Napolitano is widely expected to ask the brash, young mayor of Florence, Matteo Renzi, to try to form a government.

The 39-year-old Renzi engineered the stunning power play to knock Letta out of the premier's office and move in, accusing Letta of failing to lift Italy out of its economic and political doldrums.